


A Farewell to the Past

by KC_R



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Grief/Mourning, Hornet needs therapy, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Multi, Starvation, Uncle Quirrel and his two boyfriends and girlfriend adopt sad local teenager, no beta we die like Elderbug :(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:40:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28904271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KC_R/pseuds/KC_R
Summary: The last inhabitants of Hallownest are leaving. Quirrel manages to convince Hornet that there’s more to life than a mass grave.
Relationships: Cornifer/Iselda/Quirrel/Lemm (Hollow Knight), Hornet & Quirrel (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	A Farewell to the Past

The cold wind of the Howling Cliffs whipped and tore at her and her faded red cloak. Time had not been nice to it, nor her. Beneath her cloak was at least a thousand scars, earned before and after the Infection. Her stomach growled at her. How long had it been since she ate anything? It must’ve been months, she felt so weak, she could barely walk at this point.

For a moment as she walked the group of four closer to the edge of the Kingdom, she thought about how she shouldn’t be gaining any more scars. The Kingdom, along with all of its inhabitants, were long dead. ElderBug passed in his sleep, and Sly closed himself into his shop one day, and the next his shop was empty, the Grimmchild had taken off into the Wastes to find a Troupe, Bretta had been gone even longer, slipping out in the dead of night and never returning. 

Every time Hornet came over these cliffs, she prayed to all of the dead gods of Hallownest that she wouldn’t find the young beetle's body.

Zote and the fools at the Coliseum had also left, the Nailmasters and the Nailsmith, Midwife, and every other straggler had long since left by now. Only these four remained, and now they were leaving too. Lemm, Quirrel, Iselda, and Cornifer. The last four inhabitants of the rotting kingdom of Hallownest. 

They approached the furthest most edge of the Kingdom, marked by a number of weathered and mummified husks. “This is as far as I can go.” She stated, stopping in her tracks. 

“Nonsense my friend, I’ve seen you further out than this,” Quirrel stated. “Come on, we’ve got much to explore!” Oh Quirrel, so excited and happy. A good change after how depressed he had been at the edge of the blue lake, but he didn’t get it. He didn’t understand a thing.

“No. I shall not go farther than this and that’s final. Enjoy your travels.” Hornet says. She has too much here, her siblings’ graves, the Resting Grounds, Dirtmouth cemetery, her mother’s grave, she can’t leave any of that behind. If she left then who would take care of them? Her little sibling barely up to her waist, so small and kind, long since reduced to a stone plinth in the Black Egg Temple.

“It looks like someone’s in a bad mood,” Lemm grumbles. Hornet growls at him.

“I am not in a bad mood, this is just my personality.” She hisses. 

“Well, you must be in a bad mood not to see that there’s nothing left here. It’s just a waste of time to stay here.” Hornet was on the verge of punching Lemm. Her stomach rumbled and an ache of pain shot through her body, but she ignored it and kept her posture straight and strong.

“I cannot leave, there is much left here to tend to. Many graves I need to protect, to abandon them would mean the failure of my mission. I have never failed, I will not start now.” She said, keeping her tone steady despite the constant pain shooting through her body.

“Hornet, I know you don’t want to leave but it’s for the best. Lemms right, there's nothing left but us. Please, for your own good.” Iselda begged. The knot in Hornet’s chest tightened to the point that she could barely breathe.

“No. I have my duties, I must not abandon them. If you all chose to leave, you will leave me behind. That is final.” She said, almost doubling over from the loss of air. She stumbled but caught herself, wiping the tears in her eyes before they could form.

“I’m not sure it’s the best idea to leave you alone. Honestly, you don’t look too well. When was the last time you ate?” Cornifer probed. He was always eager to take someone under his wing, but she would not fall for such pleasantries. 

“I am perfectly well,” Hornet yelled, anger and bile rising in her throat. “You should not worry about me or my condition. I am perfectly fine taking care of myself.” She said before promptly throwing up the rotten bread she had eaten a few days prior. And then she collapsed onto the ground.

Distantly, she was panicking. What if they killed her? What if they dragged her off into the Wastes? What if they took her somewhere where she’d never be able to get back home? When she awoke she immediately tried to get to her feet, only for her knees to falter and for her to collapse back onto the ground. 

“Oh dear, she’s awake,” Quirrel muttered before rushing to her aid. She felt something press against her mandible and she bit down. It was cooked meat, something she hadn’t eaten in years. She could taste the flavor, the seasonings, the salt! “You need to eat to get your strength back, but don’t eat too fast. We don’t want you throwing up again.” Quirrel cooed, as if Hornet wasn’t an almost full-grown adult. (An almost full-grown adult who couldn’t take care of herself).

She sat up, leaning against a wall of the Howling Cliffs. “Why’re you still here, I thought you and your party were leaving,” Hornet growled as she took another bite of meat. 

“We delayed our trip when you passed out. And honestly, I just don’t feel right leaving you behind, so I’ve decided that even if they leave, I’m staying here until you leave.” Quirrel explained.

Hornet could feel the tears pricking the corners of her eyes again. It was tempting, it was oh so tempting, but she couldn’t. 

“My answer stays the same, I must stay here, and I certainly cannot leave my home without saying goodbye to those who I have laid to rest. My life has been dedicated to Hallownest and it will stay that way. Do not let me stop you from enjoying yours, Scholar.” Hornet answered stubbornly.

“I’m not leaving without you. The whole party will wait for you if you need to say goodbye, but I will not leave without you.” Quirrel replied, just as stubborn as Hornet. 

“You are a fool, Quirrel. Hallownest is my home. I must remain to take care of what is left of it.” Hornet argued, refusing the offer.

“Maybe I am a fool, but I care about you, Hornet. You’re a good person and you deserve happiness, but you’ll find none here. Please, come with us.” Quirrel pleaded.

Something in Hornet broke, and she could barely stop herself from bursting into tears. She never wanted someone to worry about her, but now she had to deal with the sweet, old Scholar who would not leave her here so she could die with the ones she loved even if his life depended on it. 

“Fine.” She said, voice cracking halfway through the word. She had to get away quickly so that Quirrel wouldn’t see her cry. “I will meet you back here tomorrow. If I do not show up by then, leave without me and pretend I never existed.” 

“Wait,” Quirrel called putting, and when Hornet turned back to face him, he pulled her into a tight hug. For a moment she was frozen, and then she fully broke. She hugged him back and cried. “Shh, it’s okay, you’ve done your best, but it’s time to move on. We’re here for you, we care about you so much.” Quirrel whispered, rubbing circles on her back. Once she had recovered enough, she parted.

She moved quickly, past the husks of the long-dead infected. She stopped in a dark corner when she was sure no one was near her, and then cried for at least an hour, and she cried for an hour more at her mother’s tomb. She did one last loop around the Dirtmouth graveyard, the Resting Grounds, and then she arrived at the Temple of the Black Egg.

At the center of where it once was were the belongings of Ghost, as well as Ghost’s and Holly’s broken masks and their nails. She organized them again, checked for damages, made sure no one had stolen any of their belongings, and then when she was done, she pressed her head against the stone that marked their graves and cried. 

“Ghost, Holly, I’m sorry. I’m sorry but I must go, and- and I don’t think I’ll be coming back. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I didn’t want to ever leave you. I know… I know I promised that I’d stay here with you until the end, that I’d die here beside you but I can’t wait that long. I can’t live with the fear that I’ll die somewhere else, or that I’ll pass out and never wake up when I’m not here. I can barely live anymore, much less here. I need to go, but I promise that I’ll find both of you one day. I promise I’ll still be here when I die, I promise I won’t keep you waiting too much longer.” She cried, tears falling onto the petals of the Delicate Flowers she had placed on their grave. “Please forgive me for giving up, I wish it could be another way, but I don’t think I can keep any of this up much longer. I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry.”

Gently, for a moment, she thought she felt someone’s hand on her back, as if comforting her. The phantom feeling that she knew belonged to no one. Perhaps it was her siblings, easing her worries, telling her that it was okay to move on. After some time, she managed to get back to her feet. 

“Goodbye, Ghost and Holly. I love you both, I’ll see you soon.” And with that, she left their grave. If she had a way to access the dream realm, she surely would have seen the ghosts of her two siblings giving her their final goodbyes. And with her finally moving on, they too could move on. 

And with that, Hallownest was finally put to rest

**Author's Note:**

> Quirrel/Lemm and Cornifer/Iselda/Quirrel are two of my favorite ships so I jammed them together, and wrote a fic with no romance in it so it doesn’t really matter


End file.
